That Last Day
by ConnArtist
Summary: An alien invasion ravages Earth, and its inhabitants are taken as slaves. What will happen to the Turtles and Splinter after this cataclysmic event?
1. Change

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ninja Turtles, and I never will, sadly. Don't sue me please.

a/n: I know I shouldn't be allowed to begin another story since I was so bad about the updates on my other one, which still isn't finished. However, this idea came to me, and I wanted to give it a shot. Hope you like it!

----

It was a sunny day, that last day, and the sky was full of birds and insects. The springtime air was clear and fragrant, even in New York City. Somehow the smog had abated in the face of such a beautiful day. Winter had lifted its cold veil only recently, and that day was the first time the green grass had really shone brightly, opening up their cells to the sunlight, begging for life.

It was the type of day that gave the sensei a new level of peace. He could not imagine a better day to release his thoughts. Though he could not go to Central Park and enjoy nature, Splinter could feel the life emanating down to him.

Life in the sewers was not easy for the old rat; his bones felt the dampness, and his arthritis was getting worse. The winter had not been easy, and the cold had been biting. That day was the type to heal the wounds of winter, and Splinter was glad for it.

That day, that last day. It was the kind of day that one could forget, so easily did it float through the mind. But Splinter would not forget. He would never forget.

----

"What's that?" Michelangelo's voice reached Splinter from the living room. Splinter heard it too; a faint rumbling, causing a bit of vibration in the back of his skull. He stood up from his woven meditation mat and strode across the room toward the door. He looked out into the living room and saw all four of his sons standing there, puzzled looks adorning their faces.

"Sensei," Leonardo said, worry evident in his voice, "Do you feel that? I think we're having an earthquake."

Before Splinter could respond, Donatello spoke, "It can't be an earthquake," the intelligent turtle looked contemplative, "It's too regular. Plus, I already checked the seismometer in my lab. The pattern wasn't like any earthquake I've ever seen."

"So, what is it?" Raphael's voice registered impatience. Donatello shrugged.

"Relax, my sons," Splinter said, striding into the room, his approach emanating confidence and providing a contrast to the worry felt by the turtles. "Worry will get us nowhere. We must investigate this phenomenon with a level head."

Leonardo bowed, ever respectful, "Yes master. We'll go topside and have a look."

Splinter nodded. "Go, but be cautious."

The four turtles bowed to their sensei and quickly prepared to leave. Each turtle grabbed his weapons, and Donatello made sure to grab his trusty duffel. Then, as a team, they ran out of the lair. Splinter watched them leave, and as he did, he felt an ominous barb in the back of his mind; an idea that suggested his sons would have trouble with their task.

Splinter sighed and returned to his meditation room. He often felt worried when his sons went topside, so this feeling could just be more of the same. Splinter sat down and took a deep, cleansing breath. He then reached over to the table which sat next to his mat; sitting on top of it was a cellular phone. Splinter grabbed onto the phone and moved it to the floor next to his mat. If his sons got into trouble, they would most certainly call.

The rumbling continued, but Splinter turned his mind inward, avoiding what was simply a nuisance to his meditation. He relaxed his mind, took a deep breath, and continued where he had left off before the rumbling began.

As Splinter meditated, the rumbling began to grow gradually more intense. He noticed, and began to worry about his sons. Suddenly, he was startled out of his meditation by the ringing of a phone. Splinter grabbed the cell phone sitting next to him and turned it on quickly, but there was no answer. The rumbling could be heard as well as felt by this point, and Splinter's ominous feeling increased.

He walked out into the living room, still clutching the cell phone. Splinter could feel the rumbling beneath his feet now, and it was intensifying by the second. He began to hurry toward one of the tunnel archways, fearing a collapse should the rumbling get worse. As he did this, the floor cracked beneath his feet. Splinter stumbled, narrowly avoiding a piece of rubble that had been dislodge from the ceiling. A loud bang resonated throughout the lair, and Splinter fell to the floor. Stone and dust filled the chamber as the ceiling caved in. Splinter made it to the archway just in time to avoid being crushed, but he was quickly surrounded by stone. He felt his arms being pinned to their sides, and he cried out in pain as his foot and tail were smashed beneath falling stone. All Splinter could do was close his eyes and ride out the collapse. His breath caught in his throat as dust entered his lungs and threatened to suffocate him.

Then, as quickly as the catastrophe had happened, it was over. The rumbling had stopped, and Splinter found himself looking up toward a dusty blue sky. He was up to his neck in rubble, and he could see that most of the tunnel that he and his family had called home was now collapsed. He could see the edges of the broke street up above him; some of the sewers in the immediate area had not caved in.

Splinter began to struggle to get free, but he was stuck soundly. He could only hope that his sons would return to help him. Minutes passed slowly, and Splinter found solace once again in meditation. Soon, the sound of footsteps crunching through the broken concrete approached from behind Splinter's head. He listened carefully to the cadence of the steps, but was rather confused by them. Before Splinter had a chance to analyze them further, a large boot smashed down into the rock directly in front of his nose.

Splinter looked up quickly, alarmed. What he saw was something he never could have imagined. Standing above him was a large, somewhat spindly creature. It was bipedal, but only partially so. In fact, Splinter surmised that this creature was nearly as comfortable on four legs as it was on two. It had three fingers on each of it's hands, and each hand was covered with an elaborate glove with tremendous claws extending from the fingertips. The creature's arms were exposed, and they were covered in a rather vibrant red fur, which glistened in the afternoon sunlight. It was wearing thick combat boots with metal trim, as well as some very elaborate battle armor, which covered the front of its legs and torso. There were many metallic panels on the armor, which shined with an oily black light. Splinter's eyes traveled up to the creature's face next, which was rather odd looking, even to a mutant rat. The creature had a snout which jutted out several inches beyond its face. Its nostrils were somewhat like those of a rhinocerous, and it had a tremendous under bite. The top of the creature's head was covered with an oily black helmet, but Splinter could see its eyes beneath a glass shield. They were vibrant blue and they were looking right at him.

The creature said something that sounded to Splinter like rocks grinding, and then reached a spindly arm towards Splinter. The rat braced himself, seeing the deadly claws heading right for his neck. Then, the claws detracted into the strange creature's elaborate gloves, and it's hand wound around Splinter's neck. He struggled, but the creature was strong. It began pulling forcefully, and Splinter could feel his air supply abruptly cut off. He spluttered and struggled, but the creature ignored him. Instead it gave a heave, and Splinter's body was freed from the rubble.

The creature put Splinter down, and the shaken sensei rubbed at his neck, checking for damage. He could barely stand on his smashed foot, and Splinter feared that it and his tail were broken. He looked up at the creature, wanting to offer it thanks for the rescue, but not knowing how. This thought was squelched immediately as the creature thrust its fist toward Splinter's stomach. Splinter attempted to evade, but the creature's intentions had not been to punch him. Instead, the elaborate glove emitted a substantial electric shock directly into Splinter's side. The rat could feel the electricity surging through him, and then, he fell to his knees. The world began to appear as a tunnel, and Splinter's last thought before surrendering to unconsciousness was an intense unwavering concern for the safety of his sons.

----


	2. Rift

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ninja Turtles. Please don't sue me. I'm not making money off of this.

----

The ground was rumbling again, and as Splinter floated back toward consciousness, he felt it throughout his entire body. It was not like the last time. This felt closer, beneath him.

Splinter kept his eyes closed, letting his other senses take in his surroundings. He could feel cold metal beneath his skin, metal that felt almost wet it was so chilled. He was lying on his side, his knees curled up against his chest. He could smell sweat; it was blanketed in the air like a haze, surrounding and engulfing him. The smell was of humans, frightened humans. He could hear their sounds as well; muffled sounds most of them. A whimper here and there from a child, a cough or a sneeze. Splinter could also hear metallic sounds, clangs and bangs, sounds that he had never really heard before.

He opened his eyes slowly, unsure of what to expect. He appeared to be in a huge, domed room, though the dome itself was made of metal, and it was covered with a texture of catwalks and blinking panels. Surrounding Splinter on the metallic floor were humans, thousands of them. He had not expected there to be so many. They had kept a fair distance from the old rat, and Splinter was not surprised by this.

Walking amongst the humans were creatures similar to the one Splinter had observed earlier. Many of them looked very much the same as the original, but there was some variation in color, some having bright red fur, others a dark brown, and still others looked almost black. Most were wearing battle armor, but a few were adorned with loose fitting gray trousers and buttoned up green shirts. These creatures were without helmets, and Splinter could see that they had large pointed ears and rather messy hair.

None of these observations served to quell Splinter's anxiety. He and these many humans were clearly captives, though what the creatures wanted them for was impossible to determine. Splinter would wait and see what happened; it was his only option.

----

"You mean, you're not one of those furry things?"

"No, most certainly not." Splinter offered a smile to the only human who had dared as of yet to speak to him. He had actually spoken first, startling the man. Splinter had tried meditating, but after three hours he had begun to crave some social contact.

"So...what are you?" The man looked puzzled, but not exactly frightened. Splinter's smile had reassured him slightly.

"I am a rat," Splinter said, matter of factly, "The reason I can speak is complicated, but you could say I am glad for the accident that made me the way I am."

"Weird," the man said, "You're a rat." He shook his head, "You know, I was a construction worker before today. Now I'm the captive of hairy monsters talking to a giant hairy rat."

"My name is Splinter."

"Oh...sorry man. I didn't mean any disrespect or anything...I mean, you're not a giant hairy rat, you're a normal sized...um...normal talking rat."

Splinter smiled, "I did not mean it like that. I was simply introducing myself. Perhaps I could get your name?"

"Oh uh, sure...the name's Dave." Dave looked at his hand for a moment and then thrust it toward Splinter, who shook it politely.

"It is nice to meet you, Dave." Splinter said, "I should think that getting to know people in this situation could be advantageous."

"Um...right. I agree." Dave shook his head, "You sure are full of fancy words, man."

Splinter shrugged, "I suppose you could say I am a teacher, of sorts. I find that if I describe things eloquently, it gives my students an advantage. I refuse to talk down to anyone, you see."

"Ah," Dave said, looking as though he thought very little of eloquent speech, "So, what do you teach anyway? And for that matter, WHO do you teach?"

Splinter felt a pang of worry; he had not seen any sign of his sons in this strange place. He would simply have to press on and hope they were faring well.

"I have four sons, " Splinter said, "They are...unusual...like me. However, they are not rats, but turtles."

"Turtles!" Dave exclaimed, "Man, if I wasn't looking at a giant rat right now I wouldn't believe it! Er...sorry. Go on."  
  
Splinter nodded. "I taught them many things, but primarily I taught them ninjitsu."

"Woah...you're a ninja rat? Like, you could kick my butt up and down this place?"

"It is feasible, assuming you are not a master of some kind of fighting technique," Splinter said modestly.

"No, I sure as hell ain't," Dave said, "Well, that's pretty damn cool. I'm sticking with you, ratty."

Splinter gave the man a strange look, but then smiled, "Very well, but if you please...do not call me ratty every again."

"Heh. Sorry man. Er. Splinter."

----

Two eyes peered out from beneath a large girder that recently had been part of a skyscraper. The girder was balanced on top of several chunks of concrete, creating a useful slit from which to look through. It and several other fallen girders were also holding up a large amount of rubble, creating a small cave of sorts; a very good, albeit treacherous hiding place.

"Nothin' out there," Raphael said, turning away from the slit for a moment, "How's Don?"

"Not good," Michelangelo said, "He won't wake up."

"Dammit," Raphael said.

"That was a pretty big rock that hit him," Michelangelo said, "He's bleeding a lot."

"Great," Leonardo said, "This is the kind of thing that –Don- would be able to fix." He reached over to Don and carefully untied the injured turtle's bandanna. He then wrapped it around Don's head wound and pulled a tight knot.

"We're gonna have to do more than that," Raph said, his eyes shifting back to the viewing slit for a moment.

"None of us know more than basic first aid," Mike said, "We need to get help or something."

"From who?" Raph said, raising his voice, "Those –things- out there aren't going to help us, and god only knows if there are any people around. I saw those things zapping people and dragging them away! They could have taken everyone."

"Well, they didn't take us," Leonardo said.

"Yet," Raph responded cryptically.

"We have to do something," Mike said, "Don looks really bad."

"I wish that cell phone hadn't gotten smashed," Leo said, "The first thing we should do is go back to the lair and see if Splinter is all right. Then, once we find Splinter, he'll be able to help us." Leo said, "We shouldn't move him unless we absolutely have to."

"What if Splinter isn't alright?" Mike asked, his voice weak.

"I'm sure he's fine," Leonardo said forcefully, "Mike, you stay here and protect Don. Raph and I will go to the lair."

"I don't like that," Mike said, "How will I know if you guys are ok out there?"

"You'll know if we come back," Raphael said, frowning.

It won't take too long to get to the lair from here. We'll be back in an hour. If we're not back by then, well..." Leo cut off.

Mike sighed, "All right. God, you guys, be careful huh?"

"We will," Leo said, jabbing his fist lightly into Mike's shoulder, "You be careful too. Keep your eyes peeled for any of those hairy things."

Mike nodded, and Leonardo and Raphael began to pick their way through their little cave. Raph hefted aside a large boulder, exposing a hole to the outside. Mike followed them and shoved the boulder back once they were gone.

Please come back... Mike thought and crawled back over to Don, And please Donny...please be ok

----

a/n: I would like to thank you folks who have reviewed this story. I really appreciate it. And here's a shout out for ya: Lioness-Goddess, Zelda's Fox 38, Reluctantdragon, and White Pheonix

You guys rock! ï


	3. Desperate

Disclaimer: I don't own the ninja turtles and I never will. Please don't sue me.

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews you guys. I'm extremely busy with homework right now, but I'll keep working on these chapters. It will be slow until December when I go on Christmas break, but I do have a pretty detailed outline for this story, so at least I won't have writer's block problems. I also know that some of you may be waiting for the last chapter of Death's Messengers, and I promise I will get that out as soon as I can.

Chapter 3

-----

"How bout some food you freaks!"

"Hush," Splinter said to Dave as he hollered at the creatures, "You should not call attention to yourself."

"But I'm hungry.." the burly man whined.

"Just be patient." Splinter watched the hairy creatures, but fortunately they took no notice of either he or Dave. Splinter sighed and turned his mind to more pressing matters. He could only ignore the pain in his tail and foot for so long, and now they were beginning to throb with hot, painful intensity. He carefully prodded at his foot and ankle, sucking in air quickly upon finding a particularly painful spot. Dave gave a low whistle.

"Man, look at your foot! I didn't realize you were hurt..."

"I have suffered worse pains," Splinter said, clenching his teeth as his hand strayed over the worst of the break, "However, this is not a situation I would like to be in with a broken foot and tail."

"Your tail's broke too? Aw, man..."

Splinter just nodded and moved on to inspecting his broken tail. It was bent in an odd way, and Splinter could see that there was some fairly intense bruising. It was a difficult break, located in very small bones and much cartilage. Splinter would have trouble fixing it even if he had Donatello's help and equipment.

"I may have to simply deal with my broken tail," Splinter said, "But if I do not get help for my foot, I may become crippled."

"That's no good," Dave said, "How are you supposed to protect me with your ninja-action if you're cripple?."

"Precisely," Splinter said, "I'm afraid I may have to call attention to myself after all."

"Good. Maybe then I'll get some food."

----

"This way..." Raphael whispered. Leonardo shook his head.

"There's a creature over there," Leo said, "It'll see us."

"It won't if we hurry," Raph said, "Are we ninja or what?"

Leo sighed, "All right, on three."

"Three," Raph said and darted away from Leo. The blue-wearing turtle rolled his eyes and followed, hoping his ninja skill would work against whatever technology these things were packing.

The two turtles bobbed and bounded over the rubble of fallen buildings; they were effectively making their way across an urban wasteland, littered with concrete, girders, and vast amounts of paper. This was particularly grim; it was far easier to associate paper with people than concrete and boulders. It was sobering to think about how many must have died during the first few minutes of the attack. It was also sobering to think how quickly their city had been reduced to an urban wasteland.

Leo and Raph ducked underneath a large piece of concrete, each looking around for signs that they had been spotted. There were no creatures in the area, and as Raphael surveyed they area, he realized that there were actually a few buildings standing. He poked Leonardo in the shoulder and pointed to one. Before Leo could respond, Raph was off and running towards it. Leo sighed and followed after him.

The building they were running towards appeared to be some kind of municipal building, but neither turtle could find a sign describing its function. The two main doors leading into the building were both broken from their hinges, and one was dangling dangerously, swinging like a leaf in a calm wind. Raphael dashed through the doorway, with Leonardo close behind. The two turtles skidded to a stop on the marble floor, suddenly feeling much more self-conscious than they had outside, though neither could figure out why.

Then, Leonardo felt cold steel press itself into the back of his neck, and he knew why he'd felt uncomfortable.

"Don't move, monster," a low voice hissed from behind them, "Put your hands up."

Leonardo and Raphael complied, but Raph looked like he wanted to protest. However, even he knew better than to say anything when he had a gun pressed against his head.

"Now," the voice hissed, "March."

----

Mike was fretting, and despite some of the fretting he'd done in his life, this was truly the worst he'd ever worried about anything. The hour had been up two hours ago and still there was no sign of his brothers. Donatello was still unconscious, and Mike was beginning to wonder if they'd even be able to help him. He also swore he'd heard something outside, but he didn't dare leave his brother to go see what it was.

It wasn't until he heard a loud clunk and the hissing of falling rocks that he stood up to face whatever it was that was around. The sound of tiny rockslides continued for an agonizing moment, and then two eyes appeared in the darkness about two meters away from him. Mike grabbed his weapons and heard a sharp intake of break from the general vicinity of his visitor. Then, he heard a voice.

"Go back! Go back!" it snarled, "There's a monster in here!"

Mike put down his weapons, "No, no...I'm not a monster," he said, relieved beyond words that his visitors were human, "Please don't leave...my brother needs help."

The shadowed figure in front of Mike paused for a moment, and then spoke, hesitantly.

"What....are you?"

Mike realized that the voice was female, "I'm just a turtle. Not a monster. Just your every day, run of the mill mutant turtle."

"Mutant turtle??" the figure took a few steps back.

"I know...it's weird," Mike said, putting up his hands in the dark, "But I'm a –good- mutant turtle. Seriously. Plus, I'm a ninja, so if you help me out, I'll promise to protect you. My brothers will too."

"You mean, there's more of you..?" the voice sounded very frightened.

Suddenly, another voice spoke, this one distinctively male. "Come on Kate, in or out?" Mike could see the figure, now known to him as Kate, turn sharply.

"There's a –mutant turtle- in here," Kate said.

"A what? Let me see."

Mike could see another figure approach, this time coming closer than Kate had. Mike could now distinguish some facial features, though they weren't very clear in the poor light.

"Well, I'll be damned," the man said, "There –is- a mutant turtle in here."

"I –told- you," Kate said, "Now, let's go before it decides to eat us."

"No..." Mike said, putting up his hands, "Please don't go. My brother needs help, and...well, it's good to see that other people are around after all of this.'

"Other people...heh,"

Mike could see the man shaking his head,

"It's definitely a mess out there, and this is a pretty good hiding place. Come on, Kate. He hasn't hurt us yet....that probably means he won't. Besides that, he isn't kidding about having a hurt friend. I can see him, and it's pretty bad."

"But...I don't like this, Seth."

"It's ok, Kate. You aren't gonna bite, are ya buddy?"

Mike realized he was being addressed, "No...no way. Seriously, though. I really am a ninja. I'll fight for you if you stick around."

The man named Seth turned around, "What do you say, Kate? Safety in numbers, after all."

"I....I guess," Kate said, clearly reluctant.

"Great!" Seth said, oblivious to her concern. He began to make himself comfortable in the cavern. Kate approached slowly and cautiously, gasping slightly when she got a clear view of Michelangelo.

"Sorry," Mike said, feeling guilty, "I really am a nice guy."

Kate didn't respond, instead taking a seat right next to Seth, hiding her face in her hands.

"So..." Mike said, "Are either one of you doctors...or do you know a doctor?"

"Sorry man," Seth said, "Kate and I are just theatre students....well, we were anyway. Plus we haven't seen anybody around since this whole thing started. You're the first."

"Damn," Mike said, "Well, you're welcome to take shelter here....as long as it lasts."

"Thanks man. What's your name?"

Mike smiled, "Michelangelo. But you can call me Mike." The turtle extended his hand and Seth shook it.

"Normally I'd be a pretty skittish guy," Seth said, "Never would've shaken hands with a giant turtle. Seeing alien ships come down out of the sky and blow up your city kinda changes the way a guy thinks."

"Aliens," Mike said, "I thought so, but I didn't actually see what happened."

"Saw the ships myself," Seth said, "So did Kate."

The girl didn't say anything, but Mike could see her nodding.

"Well," Mike said, "Somehow it'll be ok. My other two brothers went to get help for Donatello here." Mike guestured toward his fallen brother, "When they come back, maybe we can come up with some kind of plan."

"A plan," Kate said from underneath her hands, "I have one of those. Run away for a little while and get caught by monsters. That's the only plan we have."

"Maybe not," Mike said, "You'd be surprised what my brothers and I have gotten through in the past."

----

a/n Thanks again to everyone who reviewed. Here's a shout out: Zelda's Fox 38, FF Demon-angel, Jo Dawn, Lioness-Goddess, White Pheonix, dp03kf, torrant2


	4. First Contact

A/n: Sorry it took me so long to update this. It is a complicated story, and I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing before I proceeded. Also, life got in the way.

I've decided to alter the format of this story for the time being. Right now there are two separate events going on, and I think that I will be putting them in separate chapters as I go along as well. It is, of course, the same story, and there will eventually be a connection made.

Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT, but there is some other stuff in here that I –do- own.

----

It hurt to stand up. Splinter knew he needed to get up, and he had tried the conventional approach. This did not work. His broken foot could not support weight. He had actually fallen down, landing perilously close to Dave's lap. The burly man had simply rumbled a laugh and grabbed onto Splinter's upper arm, yanking the old rat forcefully to his feet.

"Thank you," Splinter said, making a conscious effort to keep the frustration out of his voice.

"No prob, Ratty," Dave said, earning a mild glare from Splinter.

"I must get help for this injury," Splinter said. He began to survey the immediate area, looking for a potential creature to approach. What he saw was a veritable sea of humanity, crammed like sardines into a metal dome, peppered by black, brown, and red creatures, many donning shiny black armor. This had become a familiar sight in the few short hours Splinter had been in this place. He began to look more closely at the creatures.

The nearest to his position was a particularly tall creature with jet-black fur. It was wearing full battle gear, its metal gleaming with an almost liquid quality. The creature's gear featured a domed helmet and faceplate, which extended halfway down its snout and covered its eyes; shoulder and torso plate armor; leg grips; claw gloves; steel-rimmed boots and a huge meter-long gun hanging from the shoulder. Splinter did not think it would be a good candidate for approach.

He turned his attention toward the wall closest to he and Dave's location. Here there was a small doorway, which looked as though it could only accommodate one of these large creatures at a time. Near this doorway several unarmored creatures were standing. They were of various colors, though Splinter noticed that most of them were red. Despite the lack of armor, they were in uniform, each wearing a pair of gray work-style pants and a button-up shirt. All of the shirts were green, with a collar folded down in a triangle across the front. Splinter noticed, after squinting slightly, that one of the creatures had white trim along the outside of the collar. It was one of the many with red fur, but it was also the one doing most of the talking in the group.

Splinter considered how he was going to get this creature's attention. It seemed to have some kind of rank, so it was the most likely choice for assistance. He turned to Dave.

"Would you be willing to help me navigate over to that creature with the white on its collar? I fear I will fall if I try to hop through all these people."

Dave rolled his eyes, "Sure thing. No need ta be so polite about it. Coulda just said 'hey Dave, help me walk.'"

Splinter smiled slightly, "I prefer politeness. It has served me well over the years."

Dave shrugged and took hold of Splinter's upper arm once again. He began to pick his way through the crowd, showing remarkable care not to step on fingers as he moved. Splinter awkwardly hopped along beside him. The going was slow, but it was made easier because people did not want Splinter to get near them. As they shambled near the edge of the dome, the creatures that were standing there snapped their heads around, their blue eyes narrowing. Dave made a rumbling noise in the back of his throat, but he did not slow his progress toward them. They were about ten meters from the creatures when the one with the white trim took several swift steps forward.

"Grebaark knuuhchfa. Yeungya braaken kraugnth." The words tumbled out of the creatures' mouth like rocks, clattering against each other.

"Wha?" Dave asked, peering at the creature with a look of disgust.

"Grebaark. Ullya kerugna braaku braaken!" The creature's voice rose with each clattering syllable. Splinter put up his hand quickly.

"Please," the old rat said, "We mean no disrespect. My foot is broken and I need assistance." Splinter was certain his words would not be understood, but he made the effort regardless. After he spoke, the creature with the white trim leaned forward slowly, it's large nostrils twitching.

"Harkun." It said and made a forceful gesture with its furry red hand. One of the other uniformed creatures, this one sporting a coat of dull brown fur, spun on its heel and ran through the small door in the dome. Splinter caught a glimpse of a long, sterile-looking hallway as the door swished shut.

"So…are they gonna help you?" Dave asked, looking down at Splinter.

"Quiet," Splinter said in a commanding voice. Dave's eyes grew wide for a moment and his mouth opened as if to protest, but he then shut it, his eyes turning back to the creature with the white trim.

After a few moments the door swished open again, revealing the gray creature. It was carrying a small black cube that fit neatly into its hand.

"Harbrun naaku braaka," The white trimmed creature said. The gray creature stepped forward and the white trimmed creature took the box from its hand. "Hebrak nufghta. Yefthun narga yalohg."

The gray creature stepped back and bowed its head slightly, and the white trimmed creature turned its blue eyes on Splinter. The old rat thought that the creature was going to speak again, but instead it pressed a large finger against the black box. It began to hum, and then it rose a few centimeters into the air. Dave's eyes narrowed and he began to pull back from the strange item. Splinter also felt some trepidation as he watched the box spin faster and faster. Then, with a small pop, it sped away from the white trimmed creature's hand and smacked into Splinter's chest.

The old rat exclaimed as the black box became a black blob, smearing itself into his fur. He and Dave watched in revulsion as it began to move, splitting in two and climbing down each of his arms.

"What is this abomination?" Splinter asked, staring at his arms.

"Grebacha," the white trimmed creature said, it's mouth curling into what looked somewhat like a smirk. The blobs moved down Splinter's arms and stopped at his hands, forming glistening black globules around them. Then, with amazing force, they pulled together, binding Splinter's hands to each other. Splinter tried to struggle free, but the blobs remained in place.

The white trimmed creature turned on its heel and began walking toward the doorway. Splinter felt himself being pulled along by the blobs. He tried to resist, but the force did not relent.

"What the hell?" Dave exclaimed, following after Splinter and the white-trimmed creature, "Where are you going? He needs help!"

The white trimmed creature made a gesture and two of the creatures by the door grabbed Dave by the shoulders and began to drag him back to the masses of humans in the dome.

"No!" Dave exclaimed, "What're you freaks gonna do?"

Splinter turned back as Dave was being dragged in the opposite direction, "Do not fear, my friend. Perhaps they are going to help me."

"Yeah, right!" Dave said angrily as the door swished closed behind Splinter.


End file.
